Not At First Sight
by Firestar9mm
Summary: Like the earth he was strong as, he was good at keeping secrets. And even the most notorious of teases will sometimes make an exception.


**Author's Introduction:**

This is one of my favorite things about writing RW fics—there's so many moments that weren't covered in the series, and it's fun to imagine the conversations that might have been had, the things we never knew before.

For instance, I'd never even thought of this particular story like this before, but as soon as I heard it from a Ronin Warrior over snack cakes, it made perfect sense to me.

* * *

**Not At First Sight**

_A Ronin Warriors fic by Firestar9mm

* * *

_

_Not at first sight, nor with a dribbed shot  
Love gave the wound, which while I breathe will bleed._

**(from **_**Astrophel and Stella**_**, Sir Philip Sydney)

* * *

**

For some people, "best friends" meant someone who'd walk them to class, sit at their lunch table and hang out with them on weekends. For others, it meant someone they could call to bail them out of jail. For still others, it meant someone to whom they could say anything without fear of judgment.

For the Ronin Warriors, it was so much simpler, and yet so much more complicated than that.

They'd fought side by side. They'd battled together, bled together, cried together. They'd been captured and imprisoned together, and if separated, they'd tracked each other down and set each other free. That took more than just teamwork. That was the result of being attuned to your friends far beyond what met the eye, deeper than _chi_, deeper than blood. United, now and forever, comrades, brothers.

Which was why, when Ryo became careless with his laundry and accidentally left a tiger-striped Speedo in the dryer, everyone knew who it belonged to. Only Rowen had walked in on Cye reenacting the dinner party scene from _Beetlejuice_ as he was setting the table at Mia's one evening for supper, but by dessert everyone was teasing him and singing _The Banana Boat Song_.

When Cye had caught his jacket on the back door's dead bolt and torn it, Sage had done such a good job repairing it that he'd been interrogated until they'd forced him to admit that his family, worried for his health and temperament, tried to rear him as a girl.

No one was safe. Somewhere in the Koji house was a very embarrassing picture of White Blaze in an ill-fitting, badly-knit pet sweater and booties. When Ully had let a note from a girl slip from his schoolbag on a visit, Kento and Ryo had sung about kissing in a tree until the boy ran into Mia's room to hide, blushing furiously. And Mia had long since given up trying to hide things like a vibrator, diet pills and an emergency pack of cigarettes from the guys. The friends were like rabbits in a warren—great at keeping secrets from the outside world, but terrible at keeping secrets from each other.

But every so often, even the most notorious of teases would make an exception.

* * *

Mia sucked in a breath, trying to hold in her stomach to better slide her slim frame beneath her Jeep. She lay on her back, trying not to breathe, trying not to make a sound that would give away her position to her pursuer.

But it was too late. He'd figured out where she was hiding; running to the car, he knelt down and grabbed her arm, giving her a little shake to emphasize his victory over her.

"Found you!" Ully Yamano crowed, grinning at her. "I found you, Mia. You're It."

White Blaze crouched behind Ully, reaching around the boy to pat at Mia's shoulder with a big paw, as though he wanted to tag her too.

Mia laughed, the sound a little strained as she struggled to crawl out from underneath the car. "You found me," she agreed. "Good job!" Getting to her feet, she brushed dirt and grit off her skirt with both hands, then tugged her blouse back down where crawling had made it ride up over her stomach.

"It's your turn," Ully said, looking up at his "big sister". "You count now."

Mia smiled and leaned against the Jeep, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against her folded arms. "One…two," she counted slowly, dragging the words out to give Ully more time to hide.

Ully hopped onto White Blaze's back eagerly as the big cat searched for a place to hide.

Nearby, Ryo and Cye stopped their casual sparring to chuckle at the efforts of the two hiders, since there weren't many places near the house that would conceal a giant Himalayan tiger.

The door closed behind Sage with a soft _click_ as he entered the house.

Rowen, who'd been observing the whole scene from the porch, got to his knees and beckoned to the little boy. "Ay. Ay, Ully! Ova heah!" he hissed, indicating the space beneath the porch with a wave of his hand.

White Blaze took the hint, and Ully ducked his head as the tiger hurried beneath the wooden deck.

Ryo elbowed Cye, and the two of them joined in, searching for hiding places in the immediate area. "Bet you can't find us, either, Mia!" Cye laughed.

Only one Ronin's attention was elsewhere; the door opened once more, and Sage stepped down from the porch. Silently, he crossed the yard to Mia, a scrap of bright pink fabric dangling from his hand. Her sweater.

"Eleven," Mia drawled. "Twelve…thir…" Her voice trailed off as she felt him drape her sweater gently around her shoulders. Eyes still closed, she turned her head to where she thought he'd be. "Sage?"

"How did you know?" he asked, the barest ghost of a smile playing about his lips.

"You always know when I'm cold," she laughed. "Thanks for the sweater."

"It's not summer yet," he scolded gently. "There's still a chill in the air, and you'll catch a cold if you're careless. You must remember to wear a jacket."

"I don't have to remember it," she said. "You never forget."

"Are you playing or not?" Ryo called playfully from his hiding spot, his voice disembodied in the cool air.

"Yeah, Sage, if yer not playin', then get outta Mia's way!" Rowen said. "Quit fussin' ova her, willya?"

The scolding came from an unexpected quarter.

"Leave him alone," Kento said good-naturedly. He'd been quiet the whole time, watching everyone play as he sat on the porch railing, legs dangling. "He's not bothering her."

Sage's winter-cool eyes flickered gratefully to Kento, and then he patted Mia's arm, tucking the sweater around the curve of her shoulder. "Good hunting."

She grinned beneath her closed eyes. "Ready or not! Here I come!"

As she began her search, circling the yard to look for her friends, Sage leaned against the porch railing, beside where Kento sat.

"Thanks," the Warrior of Halo murmured.

"Don't mention it." Hardrock's grin proved that he meant what he said.

Normally, Kento was the first one to tease Sage about anything. He ridiculed the blond's impeccably groomed hair, his impassive facial expressions, the amount of time he spent meditating, his taste in clothes, the formal way he spoke, his posture. But he never, ever teased Sage about his affection for Mia, even as it became increasingly obvious. And there was a reason for that, although the Warrior of Hardrock had never disclosed it to the other Ronin, even as they took up the slack he left in the teasing. It was a secret, something that had been revealed to him in confidence the night he'd been rescued from the mountain. 

And although he'd never admit it aloud, Kento, like the earth he was strong as, was very good at keeping secrets.

* * *

Despite his ordeal, Kento of Hardrock wasn't too much the worse for wear after being released from his stone prison on Mount Dojo. Actually, he felt great—rested, recharged, stronger than ever. He felt like he could tear apart the entire Dynasty with his bare hands.

It was the rescuers who were bloody and battered. Two had come for him, and while he'd never been more happy to see any two people, he wondered if perhaps they didn't need more help than he did.

He'd had to think for a minute before he could remember the girl's name—Mia something-or-other; he remembered her from the city, throwing herself bravely into harm's way trying to help him and the rest of the Ronin Warriors out in the fight against the dark warlord Anubis. Kento wasn't sure why she was out here and not someplace safe, but it looked like she'd jumped into the thick of it again—her parka was ripped across the chest, bleeding down feathers from a deep, ragged tear. Ice crystals sparkled in her red hair like fractured diamond, and her skin was a horrible flat white, as though she'd been out in the cold too long.

The Ronin Warrior that Kento owed his thanks to for freeing him was Sage, Warrior of Halo. Kento remembered him from the city too, a toss of blond hair, a commanding voice and steely violet eyes. Now those eyes were flicking back and forth like uneasy radar, searching every shadow for a threat. By contrast to his female companion, his color was hectically brilliant, and his nostrils flared with every anxious breath he took. Likewise, tossing his hair seemed to have devolved from an arrogant display of confidence to a nervous tic; he did it once every three minutes or so, watching, always watching the shadows. Something was bothering him, but Kento hadn't had an opportunity to ask what—as soon as he was free and the dark warlord Cale was out of the way, Sage had insisted they get back to the city as soon as possible, and the others hadn't argued. Hanging around didn't seem like the greatest idea—even without the immediate threat of Cale, overexposure to the elements was a danger, and a faint baying in the trees seemed to be following them down the mountain.

Kento happily sprawled out in the backseat of the Jeep, playfully promising undying love to Mia when she offered him a mug of hot coffee poured from a thermos and some rice balls she produced from a pack of rations that had been sitting behind the console. The efficiency with which she bundled them all into the car and made sure they were comfortable made Kento wonder exactly what he'd missed while he was trapped—she seemed incredibly calm and unruffled despite the strange, dangerous happenings surrounding them.

"Do you want me to drive?" Sage asked Mia. He'd declined a rice ball but had accepted the coffee, cupping one gauntleted hand around the steaming mug.

Mia shook her head no, ice crystals raining from her hair like pixie dust. "I'm fine," she promised, curling her flat white hands around the steering wheel. Kento thought her slim fingers had a bluish tinge to them, but attributed it to the rapidly darkening night. Besides, she didn't seem to have any problems turning the key in the ignition, so he figured her motor functions were doing okay.

Sage made a derisive sound and leaned across her to fiddle with a dial on the dashboard. The defroster sprang to life, fluttering the ends of Mia's flame-bright hair. "At least put the heater on," Sage said, even as he did so. "Have a little sense."

While oblivious to the context of the conversation, Kento felt the need to stick up for Mia—after all, she was pretty and she'd given him food. Mia—two, Sage—zero. "Lighten up, man," he chuckled, punching Sage playfully in the shoulder. "Don't be such a backseat driver."

Sage bore the hit stoically, but didn't laugh. Folding his arms over his armored chest, he closed his eyes and snorted. "Hn."

Mia smiled at them both, curving lips that were purple from her heart's frantic efforts to pump blood to her frosted features. "It's okay, Kento. Sage is just looking out for me."

"Right." Sage's mutter was thick with sarcasm. "Because I do that so well."

It was then that Kento began to suspect he'd missed something crucial.

The self-loathing in the blond's voice wasn't lost on Mia, either—reaching boldly across to him, she knocked on his subarmor, tapping a small fist against his breastplate, just over his heart.

"Hey," she said gently. "Feel that, tin man. I'm okay."

Sage's expression stilled and his shoulders relaxed fractionally.

Mia kept one eye on the road and one on the radio as she played uselessly with the dials. Every station yielded only fuzz—snow that seemed just as deadly as the storm they were driving away from.

Her frostbitten lips smiled ruefully. "Guess it was too much to hope for that everything sorted itself out while we were gone."

"Don't you worry," Kento said, smacking a gauntleted fist into his open hand. "You get me back to that city and let me at 'em. I'll play skee-ball with those warlords!"

Mia laughed, but Sage said, "This isn't a game, Kento!"

"Dude, I know that," Kento said. "Believe me, I know. If it hadn't been for you two, I'd be shish kebab by now. But I gotta make bad jokes, or I'm gonna lose it."

To his credit, Sage considered this, trying to see it from Kento's point of view. "Can you make good jokes?"

Kento grinned. "Tough crowd!"

"The toughest," Mia laughed. Sage treated them to another snort, but at leat he was smiling this time.

They filled Kento in on everything that had happened since they'd been separated, starting with Mia's quest to find Ryo and the discovery of the armor legend's poem that told her where to find the rest of the Ronin Warriors. Sage let her do most of the talking, except for two instances—one, he refused to let her go into detail about her grandfather's death, urging her to move on. Kento had no arguments there; even he could see how it upset her to talk about it.

The second time Sage cut in was when Mia was explaining how Sage had unlocked his armor's full potential on the mountain. She neglected to mention that she'd made that possible by diverting Cale's attention long enough for Sage to save Kento. Sage refused to let her gloss over it, though, despite her efforts.

"If you helped Sage get me out of that rock, then you're aces high with me," Kento told her. "That took guts."

"It was nothing," Mia said. "Sage did all the work. All I did was run around making fun of Cale so he'd chase me." She laughed. "That's barely an assist."

Sage's visible eye was pale. "You nearly _died_."

"But I didn't," she said calmly, as if she were discussing a shopping list. "You saved me."

"Well, you _both_ saved me," Kento said. "And that means you've both got a very grateful Hardrock on your team. Any time either of you need something, say the word, I'm your guy."

Mia brightened, reaching across Sage to the glove compartment. An expression of mild panic flickered across Halo's face as the Jeep lurched and jagged dangerously towards the side of the road, but then Mia straightened both her own posture and the car's position, handing something back to Kento.

"I'm glad you said that, Kento," she said. "I need you to read this map, because I think we're lost."

Stifling a groan, Kento unfolded the map, and soon the backseat was full of accordion-folded paper. He knew that there was no way he would ever be able to compress it to a manageable size again. And worst of all, she was absolutely right. They were lost.

"A map, huh?" he said. "Couldn't you have given me a demon beast, or an armored creep to beat up?"

"Maybe tomorrow," she said brightly. "We'll see what tries to kill us tomorrow."

Mia and Kento laughed. Sage did not.

* * *

It seemed that they'd been driving forever along dark, lonely stretches of road when the increasing blink rate of Mia's ocean eyes began to alarm Sage. "Okay. Pull over," he said. "Let's make camp."

"I'm fine," Mia insisted, straightening the car out for the eleventh time. "I know where we're going now."

"That's not the problem," Sage argued. "You're exhausted."

"Am not," she said, even as her big eyes flickered again, lashes sweeping down like fans.

"Fine," Sage said, in a tone that discouraged further argument. "_I'm_ exhausted. We've all been through hell today, and we won't be any good to Ryo and the others if we're dead on our feet from fatigue. I vote we make camp."

"Second," Kento agreed. "Sorry, Mia. Two against one."

"Fine," Mia said, guiding the car across the highway to a slow stop in the breakdown lane. "But I could have driven for ho…ours." The last word and her credibility were stretched by a yawn.

There are few things more unnerving than an open, deserted area, especially when it's supposed to be full of people. The highway seemed like an empty room, bordered by the grass and trees on its shoulders, the sky a false backdrop studded with stars, waiting for the missing actors to bring the scene to life.

They all felt it; no one refused Kento when he asked if it was safe to make a fire; they silently helped him collect dead wood from the shoulder to fuel it. Sage kept his no-dachi close at hand despite being powered down to his subarmor.

It was much warmer here on the flatlands than it had been up on the mountain, but there was a chill to the spring night. Mia opened the trunk of the Jeep and handed Sage and Kento a stack of blankets each, taking the remainder herself. "Here. There's more than enough for all of us."

Kento felt oddly comforted by the faded prints on the down comforters, the way the fabric was pilly and fraying with age. "Where'd you get all this stuff?" he asked. "These and the food and stuff?"

"From my grandfather's house," Mia answered promptly. "I thought we should be ready for anything—ooh, can I have that one please?" Balancing her pile of comforters on one forearm, she reached her free hand out for one of the blankets on Kento's stack—something thick and woolen, a white tiger facing an orange tiger on a black background.

"This one's from my bed," she explained, grasping the edge of the blanket.

Kento put the stack he was holding down and tugged the blanket free, draping it around the redhead's shoulders. He could understand why she'd want a bit of her own room with her, even in this godsforsaken place. He felt a pang in his chest, missing his own bed—he couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in it.

"There you go, princess," he said, chucking her fondly under the chin. "Hey, can I have another rice ball?"

She laughed. "You can have whatever's left in the pack as long as you share it with Sage. We'll be back in the city by tomorrow."

"I'm not hungry," Sage muttered. "Knock yourself out, Kento."

Kento chuckled. "More for me, then. Suit yourself."

They'd made the fire in the breakdown lane, a safe distance from the car and from the grass. Mia stripped off her torn parka, revealing a long-sleeved shirt beneath it. Balling up the jacket, she tucked it beneath her head to use as a pillow and curled up in her blankets on the grass just beyond the pavement, so she could feel the heat of the fire without having to lay on the hard asphalt. Sage stationed himself close to where she lay, his eyes on her across the flame. Munching a rice ball, Kento took a seat across from Sage to Mia's right; together they corralled the fire between them, never too far away from it or each other.

Kento waited until deep, even breathing from the tiger-printed blanket told him that Mia was asleep. Glancing over at her, he saw that she'd rolled herself up in the blankets so that only her face was peeking out, her bright hair gleaming in the light from the fire.

"She's a tough little chick," he said appreciatively.

"Don't call her 'chick'," was Sage's immediate response. "But I'll agree with you on the 'tough' part."

"What next?" Kento asked.

The fire popped and hissed while Sage thought it over. "We reconnoiter with Ryo, Ully and White Blaze. With any luck, they've already found Cye. Between all of us we should be able to figure out how to rescue Rowen."

"Then it's clobberin' time?" Kento asked hopefully.

Sage frowned, brow dipping over his visible eye. "Get it through your skull, rock brain. This is _not_ a game."

The ferocity of the response reminded Kento of what he really wanted to ask Sage. The name calling did not bother him unduly; nor did the exasperated tone of the blond's voice. What did bother him was that his new teammate—his friend—was troubled and there seemed to be nothing he could do to help.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked, but not unkindly. "Don't you want to clobber them?"

Halo's voice became an almost feral growl, and a dark pleasure softened the rage in his voice. His visible eye became icicle-sharp, and he idly cracked the gauntleted knuckles of his right hand one by one. "Oh, they'll get what's coming to them all right. They won't find me as easy a mark as an innocent girl."

It was the segue Kento was looking for. "What really happened today?"

Sage came out of his reverie with one knuckle to go, blinking at Kento. "We told you what happened."

Kento raised his eyebrows. "She was leaving stuff out. You said so yourself—you called her on it. What happened that you haven't told me? Why are you so upset?"

There was a second where Sage gave himself away by glancing at the sleeping girl, and Kento's suspicions were confirmed. "The two of you looked like hell when I came on the scene, and it wasn't me you were worried was going to buy it today. It was her," Kento guessed, and the look on Sage's face told him he was on the right track. "What happened?"

Sage looked away, firelight reflected in his eyes.

Kento remembered Cale's panicked scream as Sage's sword called lightning down to the earth, shattering the rock that held Kento prisoner and forcing the Warlord into retreat. He remembered seeing Sage in the afterimages of the lightning, a ferocious expression on the blond's face. A warrior, dealing punishment out to a wicked enemy.

"What did he do to her, Sage?" Kento asked.

Sage inhaled slowly through his nose, eyes flickering to half-mast. For the first time that day, his nervous energy seemed to evaporate; he looked exhausted.

"I tried," he said absently, eyes on the fire. "I tried to get her to stay behind. I told her she'd get in my way. I thought if I was dismissive enough, she'd get angry and take off—she'd be _safe_." He blinked hard, as if his eyes hurt. "But she didn't. She followed me."

Kento waited, knowing that Sage would tell the story when he was ready, and not before. When he spoke again, his voice was softer, lost in memory.

"I was trying to center myself," he said. "To focus. She offered to cover for me. She said she'd distract Cale."

"She's nuts," Kento chuckled appreciatively, smiling at the slumbering girl in question.

"That's what _I_ said," Sage gritted out, as if the memory maddened him. Kento turned his attention back to the blond, watching him struggle through it. "She kept saying she'd take care of it. That we _had_ to do this, that there was no other way. And I…"

He closed his eyes.

"And I let her go," he finished, his voice light with disbelief at his own actions.

"Sage," Kento began, but the other boy cut him off.

"How _could_ I?" he said. It was almost a growl; his gauntleted fingers were curled into fists. "How could I let her do that?"

Kento tried again. "Sage, man, it's okay. There was nothing else you could have done. Everything's—"

"He _threw her into the waterfall_. He _held_ her there." Sage's voice was jagged with hate; his jaw was tight with tension. The firelight flickered over his subarmor, making Kento wonder if he was only imagining that his friend was shaking. "I heard her calling me. Calling my name. She was telling me to go, to forget about her. I heard her _choking_. She was _drowning_. I heard her drowning." Now it definitely wasn't Kento's imagination—Sage's hands were shaking, the subarmor making little tortured sounds as it strained under the weight of Halo's rage. "And the whole time telling me she was all right. Calling my name!"

Kento waited. Gravity was taking over, pulling the rest of the story from Sage and into the open.

"And then he froze the waterfall," Sage said quietly, the anger ebbing away again, back and forth like the tide. "And there was just…nothing. Silence." His eyes were bleak, colder than the top of the mountain they'd come down from. "I saw her face…"

Kento remembered how flat Mia's skin had looked, bleached from cold. It had been more than just a hike up a cold mountain—she really had nearly died.

"She was blue." Sage's voice was far away, his eyes closing once more. "She wasn't moving—I didn't think she was _breathing_ for a second, and she was so _cold_…"

Both boys glanced reflexively towards Mia, searching for the slight rise and fall of her chest, ears straining for her tiny breaths, as if even mentioning what had happened might stop her heart once more.

"You saved her," Kento said, interrupting finally. He wasn't sure how exactly it had happened, but the girl was sleeping peacefully two feet away from them both, warm and alive. "You saved her, Sage."

It was like the blond wasn't listening. "She was like ice in my arms," he murmured. "So cold. She was so cold."

"She's breathing," Kento said, unsure of how else to soothe his friend. "Listen. Listen, Sage."

"She would have sacrificed herself." When Sage opened his eyes, they were clear, focusing on Kento. "Please forgive me, Kento. But I _had_ to go to her, no matter what. I had to go to her."

"There's nothing to forgive, man," Kento assured him. "I understand—"

"No, you do _not_ understand, because you were not _there_," Sage insisted, but the force in his voice was not unkind. "I can't explain it, Kento. I don't _know_ her, I don't know anything about her, and she doesn't know us, but she was ready to die for us today." He looked over at her. "And just like that…I knew I'd do the same for her." The Warrior of Halo looked bewildered by his own emotions. "She's…she's _mine_ now," he said. "One of the people I'd kill to protect. Die to protect."

Mia slumbered on, innocently unaware of the honor Halo was bestowing on her. He reached to brush an errant lock of hair out of her eyes, but his gauntlet tangled in it, trapping the strands in its seams. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he freed his hand and drew it back as if he'd burn her with his touch. This seemed to upset him more than anything else somehow, and he stared at his own hands as if he hated them.

"I wanted to keep her safe," he murmured. "How could I let that happen?"

Though his mind was clouded with horrid imaginings of dead girls and a dark warlord victorious at the top of a mountain, Kento suddenly knew what to say to the other warrior. "Sage. You _didn't_ let it happen."

Mercifully, it seemed to get through to him; the pale eyes were steely once more, reflecting the firelight fiercely.

"I won't," he said, and Kento wasn't sure if Sage was answering him or lost in his own thoughts. "I _won't_."

Letting the silence settle between them, Kento realized that he'd never fully understand just what had happened up on that mountain, and it was all right. It didn't belong to him; this was something that belonged only to Sage and Mia.

"I didn't mean to," Sage murmured. "I didn't mean for her to get hurt."

Kento knew what to say to that, too. "I know."

Both boys glanced toward the horizon, where the dark bulk of the mountain stood like a sentinel.

"It's a lonely place," Kento said. "Thanks for coming to get me out."

For the first time since they'd made camp—perhaps, for the first time all day—Sage smiled, just a little. "Don't mention it."

Sage glanced back to Mia, watching her lashes bat at dreams.

"Why don'tcha lay down for a while?" Kento suggested. "I'm not tired. You look beat."

Sage considered this, then nodded slowly. Taking the blankets Mia had handed him, he stretched out near her in the grass. Every so often his eyes would flicker open to look at her, but it wasn't long before they closed for good and his face stilled in slumber, all the day's trouble smoothed out beneath his lowered lashes.

Kento of Hardrock watched the stars, some glittering, others still and unwinking in the velvet backdrop of the night. If trouble came to call, he'd keep his new friends safe. After all, they'd do the same for him.

* * *

And even after all this time, Kento had never forgotten that firelight conversation, and he knew that Sage hadn't either. The Warrior of Halo was still keeping his promise. The others thought it was cute, a crush, something sweet they could tease him about, but Kento knew the truth—how much deeper it was than that.

Mia had nearly frozen to death on that mountain, and Sage was never going to let it happen again. She was his, now, forever, and nothing was going to take her from him; he wouldn't let her be cold. Never again.

"I see you up there, Wildfire," Mia laughed, bracing both hands on the trunk of a tree and grinning up into its leaves.

"Aw, man!" a voice came from the tree. "How'd she know I was up here?"

Kento grinned. "Don'tcha know, Ryo? Finding Ronin Warriors is what she does best!" he chuckled.

Sage smiled appreciatively, his twinkling eyes on Mia.

Always.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

So Kento and I were watching Ricky get _auf_ed on _Project Runway_ and wondering if doing an hour's worth of ab-crunches still counts if you are so hungry after you do them that you eat four slices of toast and two snacky cakes. I lay on the ab-roller pillow and munched a cake, thinking, and I asked him, "So what really happened up on that mountain?"

He propped himself up on his elbow and said, "You could tell stories about that mountain for the rest of your life, gorgeous."

"Let's tell one now," I said.

And we did.

The technical stuff:

Obviously, this is based on my very favorite episode of _Ronin Warriors_, which is **Episode 7, "Splitting the Stone".**

I had a lot of fun thinking of what the guys would have as embarrassing secrets. Please know that **none** of that is evidenced in canon (except for the part about Sage being initially reared as a girl; that is canonically true); it's just me having some fun. Speaking of the idea of Sage being skilled with a needle and thread, go read **Seinasu's** fics—they are as sweet as snacky cakes.

Likewise, the joke about Cye singing _**The Banana Boat Song**_(better known as _Day-O_) by Harry Belafonte is obviously a homage to the parlor scene in the Tim Burton classic _**Beetlejuice**_, which is one of my (many) favorite movies. That's not anachronistic, by the way—it came out in 1988.

The **tiger blanket** is a blanket that belonged to my parents. I don't remember where it came from, but someday I hope to bring it to my house. I touched it this weekend when I was back there but it didn't feel right to take it yet. Still...someday.

Sir Philip Sidney's _**Astrophel and Stella**_ is one of my favorite poems of all time. Anyone who's read my _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ fics might recognize it, but that was a long time ago. And getting longer by the day.


End file.
